Setting up an online shop has become extremely easy, but making it efficient and helpful to your visitors takes more effort. You need to make sure that your online shop is not only visually appealing, highly functional, and easy to navigate, but also truly compelling. It should provide offers that your customers can't refuse and showcase those offers in a way that makes customers enjoy the shopping experience.
Your customers are the heart of your business, so putting their needs and habits first is precisely what will help you grow and be successful.
One of the greatest advantages of an online shop is the ability to extend your reach globally; but, to effectively accomplish that, you must know your target customers' needs and shopping habits and behaviors. Because those needs and habits are continually changing as a result of ever-evolving technology, keeping up with the pace of change and understanding them has become more essential than ever.
To design an online store that will entice your target demographic and compel them to return, you need to keep their habits at the forefront of your mind. Read on to learn how you can make your store stand out and truly appeal to visitors.
1. The Differing Values of Men and Women
The online shopping habits of men and women differ significantly; so, depending on the product types you offer, you should carefully consider the gender of your target demographic.
For instance, women tend to expect a social and comprehensive shopping experience with visuals, reviews, and forums, and they are highly responsive to discounts, sales, coupons, and marketing emails. They also tend to search online for products they may need in the future, but they are not strangers to impulse purchases as well.
Men, however, generally want a simple shopping experience, and they are not as into discounts and coupons. They want detailed product descriptions, customer reviews, and a straightforward shopping experience. Unlike women, they tend to engage in shopping right when they need a particular product, and they often buy the first workable one they find rather than spending time researching other options.
2. Multi-Device Browsing
Consumers today increasingly use their smartphones and tablets to search for products to buy online, especially as mobile devices are becoming more capable of enabling seamless user experiences and providing excellent convenience.
That's not to say laptops and desktops are dead and gone. People switch devices frequently during the day: Fully 65% of consumers start their product search using their smartphones but complete their purchases using their laptops or desktop computers.
Therefore, although you should definitely have a mobile-first strategy when designing your online shop—your website should be responsive and mobile-friendly—you shouldn't forget about meeting the needs of desktop and laptop users.
3. Pre-Purchase Research Habits
